In theory, deleting your account immediately removes all Facebook data related to you. In reality it's more complicated, taking about a month.

Allegations of complicity with US National Security Agency surveillance suggest that your data may never truly be deleted.

You can still cleanse your Facebook presence for everyone else,

Delete any sensitive content that you have posted. Contact friends about content that you would like deleted.

Backup your data before deletion if you'd like a copy.

Leaving Social Data BehindAs hard as you try, some personally identifiable information may remain. This could be something as simple as your name on a message.

You have little control over this or what others share about you in future. The most you can realistically do is ask your friends to respect your privacy.

Data shared with apps and advertisers is with them forever. As a Facebook user you are leaving behind a valuable personal data footprint.

Enjoy Your Freedom"‘And remember, where you have a concentration of power in a few hands, all too frequently men with the mentality of gangsters get control. History has proven that. All power corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely.’" — Sir John Dalberg-Acton.